tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post353011645924718193..comments2016-12-09T11:47:52.410-08:00Comments on TOM CLARK: Hamish Blair: Bloody OrkneyZephirinenoreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-90188747356406440752012-03-21T19:37:11.482-07:002012-03-21T19:37:11.482-07:00Donna,
Glad you enjoyed those Wrigleys, hope othe...Donna,<br /><br />Glad you enjoyed those Wrigleys, hope others will do so as well!TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-38016279027349107982012-03-21T12:33:51.109-07:002012-03-21T12:33:51.109-07:00Dear Tom,
As I said in a word pond posting today...Dear Tom,<br /><br />As I said in a word pond posting today, thanks for lifting my head to this music, particularly. I&#39;m with you and Don, on the beauty of Orkney, upon seeing your photographs, Tom, and hearing Muir&#39;s descriptions again in my memory. Orcadian, the word alone is pretty. And I didn&#39;t know about Muir and MacDiarmid working the language different ways. Going to listen some more . . .<br /><br /> ~ Donnadonnafleischerhttp://donnafleischer.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-64588351221600988622012-03-19T10:59:17.899-07:002012-03-19T10:59:17.899-07:00Tom,
I forgot to subscribe to the post, so am lat...Tom,<br /><br />I forgot to subscribe to the post, so am late getting to your responses and you&#39;ve led the music through to some of my favs, particularly Mr. Jansch.<br /><br />When I get back home, I shall sit down for a listen to all the delightful things you have here and get back.<br /><br />Many thanks,<br />DonIssa's Untidy Huthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07352841590717991698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-49173591062960782192012-03-18T08:28:39.590-07:002012-03-18T08:28:39.590-07:00The Orcadian poet Edwin Muir stood on the other si...The Orcadian poet Edwin Muir stood on the other side of the fence from Hugh MacDiarmid on the issue of writing in standard English vs writing in &quot;Synthetic Scots&quot;.<br /><br />But there are many mansions, and both are wonderful poets. <br /><br /> <a href="http://tomclarkblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/edwin-muir-horses.html" rel="nofollow">Edwin Muir: Horses</a><br /><br /><a href="http://tomclarkblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/edwin-muir-post-apocalyptic-horses.html" rel="nofollow">Edwin Muir: Post-Apocalyptic: The Horses</a><br /><br />And lately I can&#39;t get my fill of this Orcadian fiddling...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lltO52TBvSw" rel="nofollow">Jennifer Wrigley: The Longhope Lifeboat Disaster (2007)</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_yRTWUQSdQ" rel="nofollow">The Wrigley Sisters perform at the Reel in Kirkwall, New Years Eve 2012</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr9IrXgfqVU" rel="nofollow">The Wrigley Sisters perform a medley of Orcadian songs (2003)</a>TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-52492256270400119852012-03-18T07:19:17.856-07:002012-03-18T07:19:17.856-07:00Brought to mind Edwin Muir&#39;s autobiography and...Brought to mind Edwin Muir&#39;s autobiography and the tragedies that befell his family once they were evicted from their tenant farm and settled in Glasgow at a time when the city was rife with pollution of all kinds. Thank you, TC.donnafleischerhttp://donnafleischer.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-7179775024038123422012-03-15T07:26:31.400-07:002012-03-15T07:26:31.400-07:00looks like home. not one i&#39;ve known but one i&...looks like home. not one i&#39;ve known but one i&#39;ve been.gamefacedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16562522181852339258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-30931343528150192942012-03-13T08:17:13.054-07:002012-03-13T08:17:13.054-07:00Tom,
Aye, matey, that song and those pictures ta...Tom, <br /><br />Aye, matey, that song and those pictures taketh me heart clear away -- time to go down to the channel and cool off.STEPHEN RATCLIFFEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12339481653546188412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-74411530880267349852012-03-13T05:55:45.995-07:002012-03-13T05:55:45.995-07:00It&#39;s so bloody wet and cold and miserable in t...It&#39;s so bloody wet and cold and miserable in this bloody town right now that I&#39;d look upon bloody Orkney as a bloody tropical resort.<br /><br />At least in lovely bloody Orkney shivering bodies bundled in bloody rags do not occupy every bloody shop doorway, and that would be a start.<br /><br />But on a more pleasant note -- in fact many more pleasant notes and chords and time signatures...<br /><br />dal9, thanks for the musical reminder. Extremely moving to slither down memory lane with the brilliant Bert Jansch, b. Glasgow 1943, the Bach of fingerstyle guitar. Hearing of his passing a few months back was a blow, though at this stage of the game, the bloody blows just keep on coming.<br /><br />In the years I spent in and out of London in the early and mid sixties Bert was a familiar figure in the folk clubs and otherwise. He was living in Kilburn then, one saw him out and about. He remains the greatest guitar player I&#39;ve ever heard. Indeed, it was examining his work that helped instill the modesty that caused me to put down that instrument forever.<br /><br />Back then he was thought of, and sometimes seen with, a gal from Notts named Anne Briggs. I believe it was from her that he learned much of the traditional folk ballad repertoire. For old times&#39; sake, here are a few Jansch performances of folk standards which I believe he learned from her. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkX7Q2J7k48" rel="nofollow">Bert Jansch: Black Waterside</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxOouYO5tY4&amp;feature=related" rel="nofollow">Anne Briggs: Blackwaterside</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tsb4TzzzSGI&amp;feature=related" rel="nofollow">Bert Jansch (1943-2011): She Moved Through the Fair</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dyUsXgL7ow&amp;feature=related" rel="nofollow">Anne Briggs: She Moved Through the Fair (1963)</a><br /><br />Oh, and not forgetting another vein of song, with which Hamish Blair, if in fact he ever existed, would have perhaps been familiar (Brad, thank you for the prompt on this):<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4Grwy2LNOg" rel="nofollow">Sods Opera: I haven&#39;t seen old Hitler for a hell of a time</a>TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-29048314736985302172012-03-12T23:21:02.450-07:002012-03-12T23:21:02.450-07:00Beautiful it is, judging from the photos and one w...Beautiful it is, judging from the photos and one would have to be bloody insensitive not to see it but on the other hand........Hamish Blair does seem to have something going for him there!vazambam (Vassilis Zambaras)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14515165428574974933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-10885347027040884442012-03-12T18:09:07.348-07:002012-03-12T18:09:07.348-07:00I’ve been a long time fan of Bert Jansch’s playin...I’ve been a long time fan of Bert Jansch’s playing Folk Revival enthusiasts might like the Documentary ‘Acoustic Routes’ which was posted on U-Tube for a while?? But there is a selection there to listen to including some from his time with ‘Pentangle’ Bert died recently but was a big influence on many players through the 60’s and on A really modest and talented man Colindalriada9http://www.blogger.com/profile/08508765523188135182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-72774576989840859722012-03-12T16:06:50.721-07:002012-03-12T16:06:50.721-07:00Many Scots never think to visit the Orkney or Hebr...Many Scots never think to visit the Orkney or Hebridean Islands they seem so remote The accents are different up that way too and the voices have more of a lilt or a song in them Performing music is very important as entertainment My mum would take trips up to the northern mainland to play folk music on her accordian There was no shortage of venues or accompaniment In her 70&#39;s she would play into the wee hours<br /><br />I&#39;ve never visited the islands to the north but I plan to in the next few years<br /><br />Can only surmise that Hamish was not a nature lover??!!! If he was there in the winter it could have been bloody miserable thoughdalriada9http://www.blogger.com/profile/08508765523188135182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-23238430230659093142012-03-12T11:55:51.275-07:002012-03-12T11:55:51.275-07:00If you use Spotify, I would highly recommend you g...If you use Spotify, I would highly recommend you give <a href="http://www.folkmusic.net/htmfiles/webrevs/bejocd7.htm" rel="nofollow">this one</a> a listen. The recording of this song, amongst nearly all the others, are brilliant.departuredelayedhttp://departuredelayed.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-80055940939718520642012-03-12T11:13:37.241-07:002012-03-12T11:13:37.241-07:00Bloody fun, these are, if I dare say so . . .Bloody fun, these are, if I dare say so . . .Nin Andrewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12643167108589844026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-24830325805775206102012-03-12T09:47:42.155-07:002012-03-12T09:47:42.155-07:00Very cool, all of it. First smile I&#39;ve had al...Very cool, all of it. First smile I&#39;ve had all day, so thanks for that. CurtisACravanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00315707533118640284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-42139702026416941322012-03-12T09:06:19.681-07:002012-03-12T09:06:19.681-07:00Don, both of the Ian Campbell cuts I&#39;ve linked...Don, both of the Ian Campbell cuts I&#39;ve linked to come from the terrific 1965 Transatlantic LP Contemporary Campbells.<br /><br />A collection of classics!<br /><br />The contents: <br /><br />Marilyn Monroe (Sydney Carter/Rory McEwen); Dirty Old Town (Ewan MacColl); Thirty Foot Trailer (Ewan MacColl); My Donal (Owen Hand); Battle of the Somme (PM Robertson); Hard Life on the Cut (Ian Campbell); Net Hauling Song (Ewan MacColl); Death Come Easy (Harvey Andrews); Rights of Man (trad); Liverpool Lullaby (Stan Kelly); Four Pounds a Day (Stan Kelly); The Dove (trad); Bloody Orkney (trad); The D-Day Dodgers (Hamish Henderson).<br /><br />The lineup: Ian Campbell (vocal), Lorna Campbell (vocal), Brian Clark (guitar, vocal), Dave Swarbrick (fiddle, mandolin) and John Dunkerley (banjo, autoharp)TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-73057971952713675452012-03-12T08:30:30.306-07:002012-03-12T08:30:30.306-07:00Steve,
Our bloody comments crossed...
But I&#39;...Steve,<br /><br />Our bloody comments crossed...<br /><br />But I&#39;ve just been thinking of you, and your sea-captain mate, while viewing the splendid collection of maritime pictures in that last link (A Sailor&#39;s Life).<br /><br />Some great shots in there of men of the Royal Navy at Scapa Flow, though of a generation (and a war) before Cap&#39;n Hamish Blair&#39;s.TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-75230153135288579262012-03-12T08:11:41.240-07:002012-03-12T08:11:41.240-07:00Don.
You&#39;ve tempted me to follow that bloody ...Don.<br /><br />You&#39;ve tempted me to follow that bloody strand round the bloody block, remembering Dave Swarbrick left the Campbell group after being called upon by Joe Boyd to do the violin overdub on the epic Fairport track <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szrGtFxtWXU" rel="nofollow">A Sailor&#39;s Life</a>. History.<br /><br />(A poem I spun out of that song&#39;s title in 1972 or so made its way into When Things Get Tough on Easy Street, an early Selected Poems.)TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-85582155704216915802012-03-12T08:00:29.624-07:002012-03-12T08:00:29.624-07:00Tom,
The song makes it sound a bit grim but the p...Tom,<br /><br />The song makes it sound a bit grim but the pictures tell a somewhat different story -- looks beautiful to me too, laddie, a place after my own heart.<br /><br />3.12<br /><br />light coming into sky above still black <br />ridge, waning moon across from branches<br />in foreground, wave sounding in channel<br /><br /> idea for portraits on paper,<br /> did not mention after<br /><br /> presence itself, of what is<br /> present, such as that<br /><br />grey rain cloud against plane of ridge,<br />shadowed green pine on tip of sandspitSTEPHEN RATCLIFFEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12339481653546188412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-88141986511894722472012-03-12T07:58:43.501-07:002012-03-12T07:58:43.501-07:00Don,
That link I&#39;ve given above is a good one...Don,<br /><br />That link I&#39;ve given above is a good one: Bloody Orkney performed by the Ian Campbell Folk Group.<br /><br />Here&#39;s another World War II-era song (to the tune of Lili Marlene) covered by the same artist(s):<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE5Cgvc3JqU&amp;feature=related" rel="nofollow">Ian Campbell Folk Group: The D-Day Dodgers</a><br /><br />Ian Campbell (b. Aberdeen Scotland 1933) was a mainstay of the English folk scene in the 1960s, when I was living &quot;over there&quot;.<br /><br />The band became a breeding ground and schoolhouse for players in the British folk revival. Dave Swarbrick, the great string player (who went on to Fairport Convention), does the work on mandolin and fiddle. Sweet.TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-66324101590912388432012-03-12T06:25:04.571-07:002012-03-12T06:25:04.571-07:00Bloody beautiful!
Tom, do you know any recorded r...Bloody beautiful!<br /><br />Tom, do you know any recorded renditions?<br /><br />DonIssa's Untidy Huthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07352841590717991698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-40427054951936969012012-03-12T06:20:09.813-07:002012-03-12T06:20:09.813-07:00On the other hand, Orkney looks beautiful to me.
...On the other hand, Orkney looks beautiful to me.<br /><br />BTW, these verses were variously recycled during WWII, in different idioms, to fit different places. E.g.:<br /><br />This fucking town&#39;s a fucking cuss<br />No fucking trams, no fucking bus.<br />Nobody cares for fucking us<br />In fucking Halkirk.<br /><br />No fucking sport, no fucking games,<br />No fucking fun, the fucking dames<br />Won&#39;t even give their fucking names<br />In fucking Halkirk.TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-5761577636460991732012-03-12T05:05:37.726-07:002012-03-12T05:05:37.726-07:00Bloody Orkney<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNm_iGVWtjU" rel="nofollow">Bloody Orkney</a>TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.com